placed
the bottle, inverted, in a vessel with water, and observed the space
which the air occupied in it. I found, 14 days afterwards, that the
water had not absorbed the smallest quantity of it. (3.) I placed a
large bottle, from which the bottom was knocked out, in a deep kettle
with water, so that the water outside reached above the top of the
bottle. I then tied a bladder, empty of air, over the top of the bottle,
and made the water boil up once over the fire. The air which was in that
portion of the water contained under the bottle rose into the bladder;
and after I had tied up the bladder, and detached it front the bottle, I
filled a phial with it, and put a small burning candle into it; it
burned there more brightly than in ordinary air.

This fire-air, dissolved in water, must be as indispensable for aquatic
animals as for those which live upon the earth. They must draw it into
their bodies, and convert it either into aerial acid or into vitiated
air. Into whichever kind it is, however, it must always become separated
from the water again, for as aerial acid it does not remain with the
water in the open air, and vitiated air cannot unite with water at all
(No. 2), the water is then in a condition again to absorb fire-air anew,
and to convey it to the animals. My experiments made with respect to
this matter agree with this entirely. I allowed a few leeches to remain
in a bottle, which was half filled with water and well closed, until
they died. I then examined the air standing over this water. It had no
smell, nor had the water; it appeared to have increased a little and it
extinguished fire. It seems that these creatures live only upon the
phlogiston in fire-air, perhaps also upon the heat. I have preserved
them alive in water, and that the same water, for two years; the bottle
was only tied over with gauze. I have a convenient method to ascertain
whether fire-air is present in water or not. I take, for example, an
ounce of it, and add to it about 4 drops of a solution of vitriol of
iron, and 2 drops of a solution of alkali of tartar which has been
somewhat diluted with water. A dark green precipitate is immediately
formed, which, however becomes yellow in a couple of minutes if the
water contains fire-air; but if the water has been boiled, and has
become cold without access of air, or if it is even a recently distilled
water, the precipitate retains its green colour, and does not become
yellow sooner than an h